THE SSO A-Z GUIDE TO QUEER SYDNEY

N IS FOR

Navy With the naval base HMAS Kattabul situated in line of sight of most of Potts Point, it’s little wonder the suburb is said to have the highest density of gay men in Australia. Uniform enthusiasts, which pretty much includes all gay men, have long held particular affection for a seaman’s whites and blues, long before the Village People immortalised the fetish.

So when super carrier USS Kitty Hawk came to town carrying over 5,000 American sailors in need of a little R and R, Sydney’s gay population cried hello, sailor and did its part to ensure the servicemen were treated to our friendliest reception.

Gay men and lesbians have been able to openly sail the seven seas with the Royal Australian Navy for the last 15 years and their partners recognised in the last two. But unfortunately, our able seamen were forbidden to wear their uniforms while marching in the Mardi Gras parade, which could only have spiked recruitment.

Nuts No, we are not talking about the 1987 Barbra Streisand film where she plays a troubled New York hooker who has to fight to prove she is not insane -“ she had to do that in real life after she made the horrible The Mirror Has Two Faces. And no, we are not talking about those crunchy morsels like cashews, macadamias, almonds and pistachios, those oily kernels found within a shell that are a perfect source of protein.

No, we’re talking about the slang name for testicles, as in he kicked me in the nuts or my nuts are so sore after that spin class. Most men are particularly attached to their nuts, especially for all they encapsulate about masculinity. Not only are the nuts where a man’s seed is created, but they are also largely responsible for the creation of the male sex hormones which drive so many men to do all the stupid things they do.

Nuts have a certain eroticism for gay men, for the important role they play in sex and also for the visual splendour of the male genitals. But it seems the lesbian gals just do not get it, as one community star recently shrugged when she exclaimed, I think nuts mean much more to men than they do to women, as they mean nothing to me. And that line, possibly better than any other, sums up the differences between lesbians and gay men.